I was a former senior manager at KPMG and since 1994 the owner of the Marks Group PC, a 10 person customer relationship management consulting firm based outside Philadelphia. I've written six small-business management books, most recently "The Manufacturer's Book of List" and “In God We Trust, Everyone Else Pays Cash: Simple Lessons From Smart Business People.” Besides Forbes, I daily for The Washington Post and weekly for Inc. Magazine, Entrepreneur Magazine and the Huffington Post monthly for Philadelphia Magazine. I am an unpaid contributor to Forbes. I make no compensation from the number of people who read what I write here. Follow me on Google Plus, Twitter, Facebook, and Linked In.

Steve Jobs Was A Jerk. Good For Him.

The praise has been pouring in. And deservedly so. He was a genius. A man that made a tremendous impact on the world. During the week, I probably read thirty or forty blogs and columns about his life and accomplishments. I even wrote a little homage to him myself in the Huffington Post. But I wasn’t learning as much about him as I had hoped. Sure, I learned about his story, his rise with Apple, the “wilderness years,” his triumphant return, the iProducts. But I wasn’t learning much about Steve Jobs the person. The boss.

That is until I read this great piece from Ryan Tate. And I really began to learn something about Steve Jobs. Jobs wasn’t successful just because he was creative, brilliant and hardworking. There are a lot of creative, brilliant and hardworking people running technology businesses. Jobs had an extra little something going on that further separated him from his peers: He was a jerk. Good for him.

I am not creative or brilliant. I work hard. But I like my vacations, my time watching my kids play sports, the odd nap on a Sunday afternoon too. I don’t think I’m anywhere near as hard a worker as Jobs was. And I’m not a jerk like Jobs was. Which is the biggest reason why I’m just a moderately successful business guy, and not a super billionaire. That’s because being creative and hard working isn’t that uncommon. Being a jerk is.

Tate says that Jobs exercised censorship and authoritarianism. To put anything on an Apple device you needed Apple’s permission. “Apple’s devices have connected us to a world full of information,” he writes. “But they don’t permit a full expression of ideas. Indeed the people Apple supposedly serves – the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers – have been particularly put out by Jobs’ lockdown.”

Jobs wasn’t about to let anyone use his products for activities that would negatively reflect on his company. He knew the risks of giving up control. He knew that people would accuse him of restricting free expression. He didn’t care. He was a jerk. My products are misused all the time. I have clients turning off internal controls, resetting security and converting contact management databases into inventory systems because it’s cheaper than buying a true inventory system. Because I’m not a jerk I say nothing. I just take the money. And in just about every case, these same clients have turned into non-clients. Because they inevitably ran into security and operational issues that turned their investment into a loss. And blamed me. I’ll never be as brilliant as Steve Jobs. But if I were to exercise a little more control over how our products are used (in other words: be a jerk more often) I may be a tad more successful.

“Inside Apple,” Tate continues, “there is a culture of fear and control around communication: Apple’s “Worldwide Loyalty Team” specializes in hunting down leakers, confiscating mobile phones and searching computers. In the creepiest example of Apple’s fascist tendencies, two of Apple’s private security agents searched the home of a San Francisco man and threatened him and his family with immigration trouble as part of a scramble for a missing iPhone prototype.” Wow, the Apple Gestapo. I love that too.

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I’m not sure conceding that Jobs was a jerk goes far enough. Would it be fair to say that he was abusive and a workplace bully? And, in that case, did he succeed because of or despite these character traits?

Historically, other hotbeds of innovation–the Manhattan Project, Bell Labs, DARPA, and premier academic institutions –have succeeded, as far as I know, without this sort of leadership. They probably had their share of authoritarian managers. How far did these men go in restricting the thrust of their organizations’ efforts to their own vision?

And I say “men” because the Jobs-type personality doesn’t play well for women or workplace minorities. So, if that sort of behavior is taken as a model, its application is going to be limited. Which would amount to what we often accuse other societies of tolerating: a terrible waste of human capital.

I went to college in Muenster, Germany. We had an optometrist that would only let 2 people at a time into the store. Then he put 3 frames for glasses in front of you. If you did not like any of them, you could go home. Nobody ever left without a recommended frame because he guy had an eye for what his custmers should wear. I guess he was a jerk too, but why was there a line outside the store every day?

I once had a boss/customer that made my life miserable every day. I’m glad we parted ways, but in the meantime he taught me more than any other mentor/entrepreneur I have ever worked with. I learned from his successes as well as his failures. Thanks Rick, it was a pleasure (sort of).

You readily note Mr. Job’s ethical and legal challenges yet your final analysis is that the Golden Rule is a made-for-wimps copout.

There is an accounting for one’s life and gaining two out of three of the higher trainings of the Noble Truths leaves a great deal to be desired, me thinks. Too bad Steve cannot provide a current status regarding the lack of Śīla.

Spend time with your family, enjoy your vacations and continue napping. One day we all join Mr. Jobs and in a couple of thousand years none of these days much matter.

I could not believe my eyes while reading. And when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, I got to the part where (reportedly!) SJ cursed and shouted and belittled his employees. What you found worth saying there is: “Sounds like a real jerk, doesn’t he? I wish I could be more like that.”

This isn’t what your parents taught you. Or if they did, poor you. Magazines, radio, media in general, used to spread moral ideas. Not anymore. You and your bosses that allow this to be published belong to a parallel world, one of jerks. One thing though: not all jerks, real or wannabe, are “creative millionaires”. Actually, I suspect none.

Your manouevering is poor: disguised as a joke, you manage to call him names. I am not a SJ fan, but your use of his name in the same title with “jerk” less than a week after his death is a disgrace.

You know, I just don’t think that you have to be a jerk to succeed. Steve had a lot of failures. He also had a lot of success, but at what cost? Would you prefer to die at 56 and be a billionaire or live longer with less? Whatever your choice, I don’t think you have to be a jerk to achieve success. Steve forced the mother of his first child to go on welfare. He continually denied that the child was his. This woman was struggling and she ended up, after MANY court appearances, having to get a judge to FORCE him to take a DNA test which determined that he WAS in fact the child’s father. Only THEN did he provide any support to help this woman! Sad! He demeaned people – reducing many to tears. He cursed at people. He would fire people and then rehire them days later. He would throw things. He acted like an impetuous child. Is THAT something to emulate? Of course he also made a lot of money, but at what cost? Steve was a brash no-it-all. Ultimately, that is what killed him. He was told that he had cancer and he HAD to have the operation right away. He was told that the type of cancer he had was curable if it was removed immediately. Guess what? Steve thought he knew best. He DID NOT have the surgery. Instead, he opted to try to find natural, holistic ways to heal the cancer. 9 months later when the doctors discovered that the cancer had grown, he decided to have the surgery. By then, the cancer was bigger and had spread. That was STUPID! I don’t care how much money he made. That decision was NOT SMART. Also, Steve was NOT a big philanthropist. He didn’t care enough to be. In the end, all of the belittling, screaming, yelling, throwing, mistreatment of others, disdain for other people AND MONEY could not save him. Steve wasn’t a great guy –he just happened to surround himself with people who could implement his vision. The truth is that even devils can have great vision and even bad people can build empires!